The Vercetti Chronicles
by Stephen Frankenstein
Summary: A story about Tommy Vercetti after the last mission in Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Details all the trials and tribulations a powerful crimelord in a Florida metropolis in the late 80's has to deal with.
1. Vol 1, Issue 1 Meeting With Earnest

**The Vercetti Chronicles - Volume 1, Issue 1**

Tommy Vercetti wakes up, another early day in the beautiful south Florida metropolis of Vice. He throws the blanket off of him, and sits up on the couch in his office he was sleeping on. He grabs his aqua-blue hawaiian shirt off the floor and puts it on, buttoning it up. He walks over to a large window, and looks out, stretching, surveying his city.

"Well, I better get to work," Tommy quietly says to himself.

He walks out the door of his office and down the stairs of his large, sweeping estate on the edge of Vice City harbour. He walks into a side room, where some soldiers are talking and having drinks.

"Hey, boys. Everything cool?"

"Yeah, Tommy. Everything's real cool. We run this town!"

Tommy smiles and gives a small chuckle, at the fact that he really does run Vice City, it's underground at least. He was sent down here by his former boss, Sonny Forelli, so that the Forelli family wouldn't have to deal with an ex-con walking around. He was sent down to make some money for the Forelli's. But Tommy had different plans.

Tommy grabs a Python 6-Shooter pistol from the coffee table in the lounge and exits. He walks out the doors of his mansion and down to a white sports car parked by his garage. it's an Infernus, one of the fastest, most capable sports cars on the road. He climbs in and speeds off.

As he drives, he thinks back on what has happened in the past half year. He's made friends, he's lost friends. Hell, he's killed some of his friends himself, namely Lance Vance, his one-time partner in crime. He thinks of how Lance betrayed him, selling him out to Sonny and his gang of thugs. He thinks how he pumped Lance's body full of lead with an M4 assault rifle, and how good it felt to have that burden off his shoulders. His mind started to wander, as he almost swirves over into the other lane, hitting a young, attractive woman driving an electric blue Sentinel.

He pulls up to a large Yellow building. This is the Print Works, Tommy's printing factory, which is a front for his counterfeit money business. He opens a large steel door and walks inside. He's greeted by a short, elderly man wearing a pair of brown industrial coveralls and thick glasses. This is Earnest Kelly, the operator and second in command of the Print Works.

"Tommy, my boy. Nice to see ya. Things are going great. We got that $50,000 all printed up for you to take car of that drug deal later."

"Good work, Earnest. No way that pack of street scum are gonna get $50,000 out of my pocket," Tommy says grimly, as Earnest nods in agreement.

"Damn straight. Come into the office, I'll get the money for you."

The two men walk into a small office, Earnest limping, due to a beating a month or to earlier at the hands of Sonny Forelli's thugs.. There's a desk, a filing cabinet, with a coffee machine on top. On the desk are assorted papers, a coffee mug, some fake $100 bills and Colt .22 pistol.

"Earnest, why are you packin' heat?"

"Tommy, after that beating Sonny's lowlife shit-heads handed out to me, I'm not takin' any chances."

"The threat is gone. Forelli's family are fucking struggling to get their shit together after I pumped half of them full of hot lead from the barrell of my shotgun. No one, and I mean NO ONE, fucks with a member of the Vercetti Crime Family."

Earnest smiles and nods. He reaches into the bottom drawer of the large filing cabinet and hauls out a normal-looking black suitcase. He lays it on the desk and slides it over to Tommy, who's sitting in a chair on the other side. Tommy grabs the briefcase and lays it on his lap. He clicks the lock open and lifts the cover up. Inside are stacks and stacks of crisp $100 bills.

"It's all in here?"

"Sure is."

"Alright, good. I've gotta go take care of some more things. I'll stop by in a couple of days, we should have another deal set-up by then."

"Alright, my boy. Talk to you later."

"See you later, Earnest."

The two shake hands and Tommy walks out of the building. He climbs in his car and throws the briefcase in the back seat. He starts up his car and pulls out of the parking lot.


	2. Vol 1, Issue 2 Getting Some Firepower

**The Vercetti Chronicles - Volume 1, Issue 2**

Tommy Vercetti drives along a narrow street in Little Havana, home to much of Vice's Cuban population. He passes the Cafe Robina, and waves to his friend and business partner, Umberto, who' s sitting inside, playing checkers with his papi and two other elderly gentlemen. Tommy helped Umberto and his army of Cuban gangsters fight a brutal and bloody turf war against a gang of Haitians. Many lives were lost, but when all the dust had settled, Tommy could stand tall, a true Cuban in the eyes of the citizens of Little Havana. He exits the small, project-like suburb and drives into Sunshine Autos, yet another one of Tommy's business ventures. He drives to a lower-level parking garage and parks his white Infernus next to a deep green BF Injection dunebuggy.

Tommy walks into the showroom and walks into the back, into a small office. In the office, sitting behind a desk, is Ken Rosenburg. Ken is Tommy's lawyer. He also manages Sunshine Autos, since Tommy is too busy to devote all his attention to it.

"Hey, Ken."

"Tommy, Tommy! Great to see you pal, have I got news for you!"

"Slow down. What news?"

"Well, I got those Haitians to drop their assault and battery case against you!"

"Wonderful. How did you get them to drop it?"

"Well, heheh, let's just say I used a little, ahem, legal muscle."

Tommy laughs a deep belly laugh at this. He's never liked the Haitians, any of them. He did some jobs for their leader, Auntie Poulet, and she was very ungrateful, and he's been raw about it ever since. He's had many shoot-outs with Haitian soldiers at Kaufman Cabs, Tommy's taxi company who's base of operations is in Little Haiti.

"Excellent. That's one less thing I have to worry about. Now. Onto tonight, are we clear on the plan?"

"Yeah, sure, Tommy. 100%, crystal."

"Me and a couple of the boys are gonna meet these thugs by the Sea Plane Tour building, near Escobar International. I'm gonna have some guys parked on the other side of the road, behind some crates at a terminal, in case they try to pull anything funny. Also, there's gonna be a guy on the roof with a sniper rifle. I don't expect them to cause any problems for us, they're just some low rent assholes trying to get connections in Vice. You and a few of Col. Cortez's men that hung around to help me out are gonna meet us back at the mansion, and then me, you and the Colonel's men are gonna take the stuff by boat to a rendez-vous a little ways out from the Boatyard."

"Tommy, why don't we just go straight to the Boatyard from Escobar? We do own the place."

"If they do decide to start trouble with us, which I would strongly advise against, that's where they're gonna be waiting. So all we gotta do to avoid a bulletfest, is sneak around behind them."

"Ah hah. I see now, Tommy. That's why you're runnin' the show, you're smart."

"I know, and that's why you're workin' for me."

Tommy laughs as Ken looks a little offended.

"Well, Ken, I got a few more stops to make before we can do this deal, so I'm gonna take the Sabre Turbo out."

Ken nods and goes back to work on some papers. Tommy exits the office and walks up to a hot-looking brown suped-up Sabre with a white racing stripe. He climbs in and turns on the car. It roars to life. The glass window in front of him, lifts up like a garage door, and he races out onto the street.

As Tommy barrell's down the road, swirving in and out of traffic with VROCK blasting from the speakers, his mind begins to wander again. These past 6 months have been some of the most hectic, tension-filled months of his life. Often times, he wished he was back in the pen. Whether it was ambushes by Haitian pricks or Sonny Forelli always breathing down Tommy's neck, asking about his money, Tommy always had to be on his guard. In the month that has passed since Tommy killed both Lance Vance and Sonny at his mansion, things have been pretty quiet. When criminals across the city heard that Tommy had taken on over 20 guys single-handedly, they all took a step back. They knew who the new king in town was. They knew better than to fuck with Tommy Vercetti. He was a heartless, merciless killing machine. He was running the city.

Tommy pulls up in front of Ammunation, Vice City's premier weapon's retailer. He walks in the doors and up to the counter.

"Yes, Mr. Vercetti, how may I help you?" The clerk knows Tommy well. Tommy has many a time bought some heavy artillery to help him survive in this fucked up city.

"I need some Uzi ammo. Lots, and lets take a PSG and a few clips, too."

"That will be $10,000, sir."

Tommy shakes his head in disbelief as he hauls out his wallet. He hauls out some money, real green, and hands it to the guy.

"Guess you can't put a price on your own life, hey," Tommy quips.

He's handed two black cases, one with the Uzi ammo and the other with the PSG sniper rifle and the ammo. He nods and thanks the clerk and goes out to his car, parked on the sidewalk. He opens the trunk and puts the artillery in. He lays it next to some gasoline cans that were used one time when they had to teach a low level crime boss a lesson in criminal courtesy. He closes the trunk of the Sabre Turbo and gets in the drivers seat. He starts off towards Prawn Island, "Dangerous Bastard" by Love Fist, personal friends of Tommy, blaring over the radio.


	3. Vol 1, Issue 3 The Junkyard Massacre

**The Vercetti Chronicles - Vol. 1, Issue 3**

Tommy speeds down a street in downtown Vice City. He passes a young man on a PCJ leanover motorcycle. Tommy's temped to bump him, but he doesn't as there's a cop on the other side of the road. It's always puzzled Tommy. You can break as many traffic laws in Vice City as you want but the minute you pop some stupid motherfucker who scratched your car, you got three squad cars on your ass. Oh well, I guess the crime scene in Vice is so big, the cops don't have time to worry about traffic law violators.

Tommy turns into a street leading into Little Haiti. He makes sure he has his Colt Python pistol at the ready. He hauls up to another yellow building. This time it's Kaufman Cabs, a taxi company that Tommy owns. He walks in, waves to the middle-aged woman running the radio system, Dolores, and collects about $5000 in profit from a safe. Tommy counts it to make sure it's all there and starts over to his Sabre Turbo again to run a few more errands, when Dolores screams out to him.

"Tommy, Tommy! Some Haitians got one of our drivers held up by the Junkyard! He needs your help!"

"Ah, shit. Fucking Haitian scum. I'm on my way!"

Tommy jumps into his car and turns the key. The engine roars to life. Tommy peels out of the garage and down the street. He makes a sharp right turn and goes up another side street. At the end, about 10 Haitians have a middle-aged man in a hawaiian shirt backed up against a wall. Some of them have bats, others have handguns. The tires on his cab are all popped and his front windshield has been bashed in. Tommy speeds toward them and hauls on the handbrake, stopping just inches from one of them. He gets out of the car and immediately fires 2 shots in the air. They all scatter away, some behind the taxi others behind buildings. Tommy runs over and stands in front of the taxi driver, who Tommy can now see has a busted lip.

"Wanna pick on a defenseless man?! Huh?!?"

Tommy is now enraged. The Haitians have tried this before, taking one of his employees hostage in order to try and get Tommy. Tommy sees one poke his head out from behind the taxi and immediately fires. The guys head snaps back, the top portion gone in a spray of blood and entrails. Two more start running at Tommy, both firing and screaming. Tommy and the cabbie both duck, until Tommy hears the "click click click" of empty clips. He springs into action, shooting one in the chest and the other in the kneecap. He ducks down again.

"What's your name?"

"Ted...shit, that no good fucker hit me in the face with the butt of his gun."

"OK, Ted, climb in my car and get down. Don't get up until I get in the car again."

Ted nods and climbs into the car, Tommy in front of him firing away. When the man was safely in Tommy's car, Tommy heads into the junkyard, where many of the Haitians went. He walks slowly, his eyes darting everywhere. He can still hear the man he shot in the kneecap screaming. He looks up ahead and sees the top of a white hat behind some stairs. He raises his gun, aims, and fires. A cloud of blood erupts from the man's head as the bullet passes through his white cap. Tommy reloads his gun, his back pressed to a piece of large green steel. Suddenly, a bat flies down and hits the metal about three inches from Tommy's head. He rolls on the ground as a Haitian with a bat jumps down from the top of the green structure. Both men are on their feet, facing each other. The Haitian lunges forward and misses. Tommy spins around and shoots him twice in the back. Now, there are only 5 Haitians left. He heads deeper into the Junkyard.

As Tommy walks, he hears something to his left. He runs behind a garbage truck and peeks out. He doesn't see anything, but he can't take any chances. He walks quietly over there. Suddenly, he hears a swoosh as a bat hits him square in the middle of his back. He falls to the ground as the Haitian towers over him.

"You'll be a dead un soon enough, ya ear!"

The Haitian raises the bat high over his head and brings it down, but Tommy rolls out of the way. He gets up on his knees and fires twice, hitting the guy in each shoulder. He falls to the ground, moaning in agony. Tommy crawls over to him, clutching his back, puts the gun at the mans throat. The Haitian's eyes grow wide as Tommy pulls the trigger. Blood goes everywhere as the bullet passes thru the man's throat and into the ground behind him. Tommy stands up slowly, mud and blood staining his blue shirt. He goes over to a large crane and ducks behind it. He sees the remaining 4 Haitians standing inside, arguing about what to do. Tommy rests his gun on the base of the crane and aims at one of them, the last one left with a gun. He locks the man in his sights and fires. He hits the guy square in the back. He's sent forward into another one of his comrades. The two standing look around scared, and draw their bats in front of them. Knowing that the can't do any more damage at long range, Tommy comes out from behind the crane and walks towards them. One of them starts to run towards him but Tommy catches him with 3 shots to the chest. He falls down dead. The other one also runs, bat in the air, screaming, towards Tommy. Tommy waits until he gets closer and shoots him right in the shoulder. A cloud of blood, muscle tissue and bone go everywhere as the man is blown back, his shoulder blown to shit. Tommy walks over and puts a bullet right in his heart. He walks over to the guy thats stuck under his dead Haitian buddy.

"Now, Mr. Haitian #10. What am I gonna do with you? All your buddies are gone to the fuckin' spirit in the sky so I'm runnin' out of ways to kill people originally. So what I'm thinkin', is that I take you out to the docks and feed you to the fuckin' sharks. But then, no. I got a better idea. I'm gonna take you back to the garage and let the fine men of Kaufman Cabs beat the shit out of you."

The man's mouth hangs open as Tommy picks him and leads him, with his gun in his back, to the car. Tommy opens the trunk, takes the guns out and puts the Haitian in. He grabs the guns and gets in the front of the car.

"Did you get all those pricks?"

"Yeah, Ted. They're all dead."

"Good."

The two men, along with the scum in the trunk, drive off to Kaufman Cabs as an ambulance and a police cruiser pull in the street, sirens wailing. When they pull up to Kaufman Cabs, a few of the drivers are there. Ted gets out and is helped over to a chair to sit and have a smoke. Tommy grabs the Haitian out of the back, gets some rope and ties him to a steel support beam. He drives off as the cabbies all circle around him, like sharks, going in for the kill. Tommy smiles as he pulls out of Little Haiti, onto his next chore.


	4. Vol 1, Issue 4 The Sniper

**The Vercetti Chronicles - Volume 1, Issue 4**

Tommy pulls out of Little Haiti and onto Vice City's main drag of road. It's about 8:00 pm now. The meet is at 10 pm, so that way no John Q. Law's will be around to bust them. Tommy crosses a bridge and enters Starfish Island, the upscale part of Vice City where Tommy lives. All the rich people live here; politicians, celebrities, lawyers, doctors. And one crimelord. He pulls into his estate and drives the Sabre Turbo into a garage. He hops out of the car, grabs the guns and ammo and runs up a set of stairs as the garage door closes, and enters his mansion. He walks up to his office and changes into a clean shirt. He lays the two black cases on a table and goes back downstairs to the lounge where there are already about 5 men waiting for him.

"OK, gentlemen. We still have about 2 hours to go before we go to the meet, but I just wanna run over the plan one more time to make sure that this goes well. I have the counterfeited money up in my office in a safe. We're gonna take that and meet these guys at Sea Plane Tours by Escobar International. Mario, Vin, you guys are gonna ride with me. You other three, there's a Rancher in the garage. You can take that. Now, we're already gonna have some guys there. We're gonna have a sniper on the roof in case they start any shit. And we got some guys in a van with M60's so we should be OK. This should only be a 5 minute deal. In and out. We give them the fake money, get the spank and bring it back here. Me, Rosenberg and some other men are gonna take it out to one of those shacks in the middle of the harbour. We have some buyers who handing over some major green for this stuff, so by 1 am, we should all be rolling in it. We all clear?"

The men all nod their head.

"Alright, good. There's some Uzi ammo up in my office. I gotta go get the sniper sorted out so you guys get ready. It's almost 9 now, I should be back around 10, so we'll head out then. Alright, I'll see you guys in a little while."

Tommy goes and grabs the sniper rifle and heads out the doors of the mansion. He hops into the Sabre and speeds out the driveway and onto the road.

As Tommy's driving, he gets a cold shiver. He shakes it off, but a bad feeling still lingers. He pulls into a crummy looking place with a big sign that says "PHIL'S PLACE". He parks his car infront of a large barn and gets out. He walks over toward a mobile home as a man with a mullet and one arm comes out.

"Goddamn, Tommy! Good to see ya!" This man is Phil Cassidy. He helped Tommy knock off the Vice City bank once and they've been close friends since then. Whenever Tommy needs something that Ammunation doesn't carry, Phil is the man he goes to see. "You need a rocket launcher? M60? minigun?"

"Nah, Phil. I need to ask a favour. You can still handle a sniper rifle, right?"

"I sure as hell can. I might only have one arm, but as long as it's got a stand, I could pick off a fuckin' needle in a haystack."

"Great to hear. I need you to help me with a job tonight. We got a drug deal going down and I want some extra cover. I don't completely trust these guys. They're liable to go postal and start shooting, so I just want some extra firepower around."

"I can definitely do that. Where's the deal going down?"

"Near Escobar International, in the parking lot of the old Sea Plane Tours building. We're gonna have you stationed on the roof of the mechanics building. You'll have a great shot from there, overlooking the whole deal."

"Sounds like a plan, Tommy. Count me in. When are we leavin'?"

"We're gonna have to leave right now. Get some dark clothes, I got the rifle in my car, I'll drive you there right now. Mind if I take the Patriot?"

"Go ahead, I can't drive it anymore."

Tommy nods as Phil turns around and goes into the trailer. He grabs the PSG out of the car and walks over to a big brown army jeep. He puts the black case in the back and climbs in. He turns the keys, already in the transmission, and the big machine roars to life. Tommy smiles and pulls out in front of the trailer. A moment later, Phil steps out wearing a black long sleeve shirt, black jeans, a pair of big black boots and a black baseball hat. He walks around to the passenger's side and gets in. Tommy pulls out of the big yard in a cloud of dust and rocks.

"So who are these guys? Colombian, Mafia, Cuban?"

"Nah, those kinda people are professionals. We wouldn't need all these precautions if it were a job like that. These are just some street thugs. Guess they're trying to move up in the world. I got a weird feeling about it though."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. I was walkin' out of the car dealership one day and these two kids, no more than 21, walk up to me. They say 'Hey, you're Vercetti, right? We wanna set up a deal with you.' We went back to the mansion, sat down for a minute, set up the deal and that was it. Just seemed weird to me how they'd come out of the blue and set that up, no contacts or nothing."

Phil nods as they turn into off the main road they were travelling on and go down a road to a big blue building.

"How we gonna get up on the roof, Tommy?"

"I spoke with the manager earlier. He left the door open for us, there's a ladder we can get up there. He doesn't care what goes on here as long as it's after hours and he doesn't have to deal with it. Let's go."

The two men get out of the car, Phil with the PSG case in hand and enter the building. Tommy flicks on a switch and the place lights up. It's a mechanical building. There are a few baggage handlers around, some without wheels, others with the the hoods popped open. Tommy nods to a stairwell leading to a door, and the two head towards it. They get to the top of the stairs and open the door, which reveals a ladder. They climb the ladder and pop up on the roof. Tommy walks over to the side of the building overlooking the meet location. Phil walks up behind him.

"OK, Phil. This is where you're gonna be. As you can see, you're gonna have a pretty good shot at everyone there so we should be cool if they open fire. Alright, it's almost time now so I gotta go get ready. Those other guys should be here any minute so get down and set up. Me and my guys will be here in about 10. I appreciate this, Phil."

"Ah, any time, Tommy, any time."

Tommy shakes Phil's hand and heads back down the ladder. Once he's outside, he gets in the Patriot and speeds off down the street, towards his mansion. He still has that bad feeling, but puts it out of his mind.A few minutes later, he pulls up to his mansion. He goes inside, to find all his men lined up, with Uzi's in hand, waiting for him. He goes up to his office, changes into a light blue suit and walks back downstairs, Colt Python in hand.

"Let's Go."


	5. Vol 1, Issue 5 A Deal Gone Sour

**The Vercetti Chronicles - Vol. 1, Issue 5**

The Patriot Tommy is driving, along with the two Vercetti gang soldiers riding with him, pulls up onto a side road and stops on the sidewalk. He hauls out a pair of binoculars and looks up at the roof of a big blue building. He sees his compadre Phil Cassidy looking around, with a sniper rifle in front of him. He waits as a red Rancher pulls up next to the Patriot. The man in the passenger seat rolls down his window, as does the driver of the Rancher. It's another one of the soldiers of Tommy's crime family.

"You guys go in first, we'll follow you in."

"Sure thing, boss."

The Rancher pulls up the road, with Tommy following close behind. There is no one in the parking lot yet. The Rancher pulls up and stops. Tommy backs the Patriot up next to the Patriot, in case a quick getaway is needed. Tommy still hasn't shaken the eerie feeling surrounding this deal. He can almost write it off to just nerves. He gets a little jittery whenever he does a deal with a new client. But there's still that little bit of uncertainty in his mind that he can't dismiss, possibley to make sure he doesn't become too sure of himself. The Spank trade is a dodgy business, but it's good money, so it's a price Tommy deemed worth it a year ago. He's drawn out of his meandering thoughts by one of the soldiers tapping him on the shoulder.

"Mr. Vercetti, they're here."

Tommy looks up and sees two black Burrito vans pull into the parking lot.

"Alright, showtime. Now, no one look to the blue building to our left, Phil is up there for some insurance. Everyone be cool."

The two vans stop and the back doors open up simultaneously. Tommy keeps his gaze on the vans as two young men get out of each of them. The vans lights dim as the engine dies. The drivers of both vans get out, along with the passengers. Tommy can see that these four men are carrying Tec-9 Uzi's, less powerful then his men's MP5's and his own Python 6-Shooter. The men that got out of the back all have Mac-10 Uzi's, a little more powerful, but not much. Tommy and his henchmen walk towards the men. Two of his henchmen are carrying silver briefcases, containing 50 grand in counterfeit $100 bills.

"You got the money?"

This kid doesn't sound like he's broke 20 yet, Tommy thinks to himself, bewildered.

"You got the spank?"

"Yeah, here it is."

The kid motions for the two others to hand over the cases. They set them on the ground in front of Tommy and his men, Tommy never taking his gaze off the young ringleader. Tommy turns and nods to the soldier carrying the two silver briefcases. He steps forward and lays them in front of the young man directing business. He then leans forward and takes the two black cases. He steps back and opens the cases. Sure enough, they're packed with bags of spank. He looks up at Tommy, smiles and nods.

"Alright, Gentlemen. Pleasure doing business with you guys."

The young man nods nervously and looks around at his other companions. Tommy's party turns and walks back towards their vehicles. Suddenly, two more Burrito vans screech to a halt outside the gates of the parking lot, blocking the exit. More men get out and point their guns toward the Vercetti gang.

"A-alright! You guys, give us the spank and none of you will get killed!"

Tommy looks around at the scene in front of him. A bunch of young punks, about 15 in total, trying to pull a fast one over on the Vercetti mob. Tommy glances up at Phil on the roof, who's aiming right at the face of the leader of the gang. Tommy looks at the young man and can see the red dot shaking on his forehead. His eyes are wide and his gun is raised at Tommy. Suddenly, a shot blasts and the kid's face goes red as the bullet crashes into his head. Phil manages to get 4 more people before anyone can react. By this time, Tommy and his men have dove behind their vehicles as the remaining ten men spray the vehicles with a rain of bullets from their sub-machine guns. Tommy can see one of them firing blindly up at Phil, but knows the kid isn't a good enough shot to cause any damage. One of the Vercetti henchmen pops up and starts firing, spraying the kids with bullets. Tommy can hear screams as people are hit, and the men hops back down, his clip empty. The firing stops and Tommy peers out from behind the Patriot. He hears a roar as his men in the van tear out of the parking lot of Escobar and stop just short of the kids in the car. Tommy waits to hear the gangsters remaining scream in pain as their bodies are riddled with bullets, but the sound never comes. Instead, he hears some talking.

"They're behind their cars."

He looks out again and sees three men wearing black suits and matching gloves. Each of them has two Colt pistols in each hand. They step out in front of the black vans in the parking lot and line up. Tommy can tell these guys are professionals, but he doesn't know what family they are. Tommy turns back to his men, who are all crouched on the ground, waiting for instructions.

"OK, when I say go, everyone pop up firing. I don't know where our backup is and Phil had to high-tail it, so we're on our own. OK...1-2-3- GO!!"

Tommy and his men pop up, their guns rested on the hoods of their jeeps, firing away. The men in the suits take cover behind the black vans. Tommy manages to catch one of them on the back of his leg. He falls to the ground and rolls over, firing away. Two of the soldiers direct their attention to the man, as his guns run out of ammo. His body starts to shake violently as he's pumped full of lead. Tommy ducks back down behind the Patriot to reload. His men follow his lead and do the same. Tommy puts 6 more bullets in his gun and looks over to his men, some fumbling with clips. Suddenly, he hears a crash on the hoods of his cars and looks up to see the two suited men on the cars, guns drawn.

"LOOK OUT!"

Tommy rolls out of the way, 4 of his men also roll under the Rancher. One of them, who was still reloading, wasn't so quick. The two men each send four bullets into the man's, whose name is Carl, chest. The two men hop down. Tommy catches the one nearest to him in the gut with a shot. The man falls down, face twisted in a grimace of pain and anger. Tommy brings his gun up and aims right at the mans head. The scene is almost in slow motion, Tommy pulls the trigger, he hears the hammer fall and the bullet shoot out of the barrell with a dull roar, it makes a splash as it enters the man's head. A cloud of red fills the air as his head explodes. His guns drop to the ground and his body goes limp. The one remaining assasin turns around, blood soaking his right leg. He aims his gun down at Tommy but suddenly gets a chest full of lead as two henchmen empty their clips into the mans midsection. The white shirt underneath his black blazer goes red. Tommy looks at the two men and nods his gratitude. The three reload and get up. There are a few men now left, holding their guns in their shaking hands. Tommy and the 4 men all step out from behind the Patriot guns blazing. Tommy catches one man in the shoulder, he flies back and hits the van, leaving a big dent glistening in a streetlight. The other punks fall to their knees, all but one of them dead. Tommy walks up to the young man, whose red shirt is getting darker, with the bullets in his chest. He points his gun down at the man's head, their eyes locked.

"Who do those men work for? WHO?!"

Tommy, now enraged, glares down at the men. He opens his mouth to say something.

"From-Liberty.."

He coughs, his breath getting short. His eyes start to roll back into their lids as his head hits the pavement, dead. Tommy's mind is racing. Liberty. Liberty City. The Forelli's operated out of Liberty. One of the Henchmen, carrying the briefcases containing the spank walks up behind Tommy.

"What'd he say?"

"He said...those guys were from Liberty."

"Liberty City? Didn't Sonny.."

"Yeah, he did. Looks like they're trying to get their revenge on us. C'mon, we can worry about this tomorrow, we need to head back to the mansion."

The two walk back over to the Patriot and climb in. The other 3 men are already in the Rancher, waiting to haul out. Tommy climbs into the drivers seat, as the guy sets the briefcases containing the spank on top of the briefcases containing the counterfeit bills. Tommy's eyes start to go screwey, reminding him of the time Phil's boomshine got to him. He lets his head fall back onto the headrest as the henchmen climbs in the passenger's seat.

"Mario, I think you better drive, I don't feel so good."


	6. Vol 2, Issue 1 The Aftermath

**The Vercetti Chronicles - Volume 2, Issue 1**

It's been two days since the deal went down. Tommy has been sitting in his office since then, trying to figure out who these people are. He's been phoning some contacts in Liberty City, none of them are able to give him any information. Not even Kent Paul, the man in Vice City who has his nose up everyone's ass, can tell him anything about these mystery men from the North. Finally, he gets up from his messy desk and walks downstairs. Like usual, there are soldiers hanging out in the bar. He walks in and pours himself a drink.

"Any word on who those guys were," one of the soldiers, Vin, inquires.

"Nope..nothin'. All I know is that they're from Liberty and they looked like Mafiosos to me. And there's only one Mafia crime family operating out of Liberty."

"The Forelli's." Tommy and all the henchmen look at one man, sitting in an armchair.

"Yeah, no shit it's the Forelli's, prick. I think we've all gathered that now. I'm just wondering why it took them so long to try and get back at us. If they really wanted to get even and take me out, why would they just send down three guys? This doesn't make any sense." Tommy shakes his head and downs the rest of his drink. "No word on the other guys, our backup in the van?

The men shake their head. Some look at the ground, others fiddle with their drinks. They all know what happened to their backup guys. The men in the suits killed them and took their van, everyone has accepted that in their mind. But none of them want to come out and say it just yet.

He exits the mansion and heads down to his garage. Inside is Phil's Patriot and a white PCJ-600 motorcycle. He climbs into the Patriot and tears off, down the mansion driveway. The huge military vehicle dwarfs the Cheetahs and Stingers of the citizens of Starfish Island. He enters the business district of Vice City, the east island. Tommy's mind goes back to the meet two nights earlier. He can see himself, the suited men, his soldiers. He can see the young fuckers who set up the deal to get them. He sees he and his own men start firing at the guys in the suits, killing the one that wasn't fast enough. Tommy can see he and his men duck behind the cars again to reload, as the punks look on, scared out of their wits, in over their head. He can see the suited men run fullspeed at their jeeps and jump on the hoods and climb over onto where Tommy and his men are. He can see Craig get shot, time and time again, over and over, the bullets entering his body, some coming out his back and hitting the ground behind him. Tommy can see himself on the ground, shooting one of the men. He can see him shoot the man in the head. He can see the other man get shot too. Before he knows it, he's pulling into Phil's place, the scene still playing over in his head. He shakes his head and rubs his eyes. He gets out of the Patriot. His Sabre Turbo is still parked where he left it a few days earlier. He walks over to Phil's trailer and knocks on the door. He can hear rustling inside as Phil comes to the door, a bandage over his right shoulder, the shoulder with no arm. Tommy looks at the bandages and looks at Phil.

"Little fucker managed to put one bullet in me with all his flailin' around. I'm fine, don't worry about me. Come in."

Tommy steps into the trailer and sits down. Phil goes over to the fridge and hauls out a bottle of beer. He motions to Tommy, asking if he wants one as well. Tommy nods. Phil hands Tommy a beer and rests on his kitchen counter.

"So what happened to you after? Did you see what happened to the other guys?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry I kinda hung you out to dry there, but I got hit and I had to leave. As I was getting down off the roof, I guess that's when our men in black sprung into action. I got out back and there wasn't anyone there. I walked over to the airport terminal and caught a cab back here. I got the PSG in the shed, you can pick it up when you leave. As for your guys in the van, my guess is those assasins killed em and dumped their bodies in the water. I didn't hear anything so they musta had silencers."

Tommy takes a long draught of his beer. "Goddamn, I'd love to find out who these guys are working for. I'd probably be right if I just assumed these guys were working for the Forelli's, but if they wanted me dead, they woulda sent more men. There were over 20 guys in my house when I took out Sonny and Lance. They knew better than to only send three guys down here. I'm thinkin' this is a new family, just coming up since the Forelli's have been taken out of commission." Tommy takes another sip of his beer and looks up at Phil.

"Well, I got a contact up in Liberty. A guy in the force, Detective Ray Machowski. I'll get ahold of him, see what he can tell me. If these guys aren't just some hitmen those thugs hired and they are apart of some crime family, he'll know which one. I know what they look like, so I'm willin' to bet that there'll be a lot more men up in Liberty walkin' around dressed like them."

"Alright, Phil, thanks. That's gonna be a big help. I'm gonna go over to the Pole Position, that should distract me for a little while. Drop by the mansion when you talk to this Machowski guy. I'll most likely be there."

Phil nods as Tommy exits the trailer and gets into his Sabre Turbo. He pulls out of Phil's place and speeds down the road in Little Haiti, weaving in and out of traffic, Haitians running after him, firing their handguns. Tommy turns right and drives up, past the entrance to Starfish Island, and instead of turning down to go onto the other island of Vice City, he pulls up toward the airport. He stops at the end of the road leading up to the Sea Plane Tours building. There's yellow tape stretching across the road, from one chainlink fence to the other. There are cop cars and even an FBI Rancher parked inside. Tommy thinks back to after everyone who was meant to die that night had died. His guy, the only one that had died had been loaded into the Rancher. They sprayed down his blood with ammonia so the cops couldn't identify him as a Vercetti thug. They drove back to the mansion, cars riddled with bulletholes. Tommy and two men took the dead soldier and the spank back to a boat. Ken Rosenburg and two men dressed as sailors were waiting on board. Tommy climbed down onto the boat. He put the spank under his drivers seat. His soldiers hand the bloody corpse down to Col. Cortez's men. They laid it on the deck. Tommy sat in the drivers seat of the large cabin cruiser, Ken in the passenger's seat, the Colonel's men down on the deck, Rugers in hand.

"So, Tommy, what happened? I mean, it's pretty obvious everything didn't go OK. Tommy...Tommy?"

Tommy's mind is spinning. At this point, he's still under the impression the Forelli's have started to take their revenge. He starts the twin motors on the back of the boat and pulls out into the harbour.

"The little punks set us up...Three guys, Mafioso's from Liberty. They took out Craig."

"Mafioso's from Liberty..wow...MAFIOSOS FROM LIBERTY?! ARE YOU SURE?!"

Tommy zones out amidst Ken's terrified ramblings. He just steers the boat out towards the three old stilt cabins, replaying the events over in his head. Soon, through the fog that had settled on the harbour, he can make out the cabins.

"Shut up, Ken. We gotta be professionals now. We can worry about them when we get back. Hey, you two. Dump that body over the boat. We don't want these guys getting spooked."

Tommy hears a splash as the body is rolled into the harbour. He pulls the boat up to a cabin. Two Squallo 2 speedboats are already parked there. These are belonging to the men he is dealing with. They are Cubans, so Tommy trusts these people, hence the lack of security needed. They are waiting for him inside the Cabin. Tommy, Ken and the two men get off the ship, Tommy with his trusted pistol in hand, Colonel's men with their Rugers and Ken, white as a ghost, carrying the spank. Tommy meets with the head Cuban, they talk, shake hands and exchange spank for cash. Tommy is pulled out of his trance by a tap on his shoulder.

"Sir, you can't be here right now. An official VCPD investigation is underway, you must leave now."

A young, female officer is standing in front of him, arms behind her back, looking up. Tommy looks down at her for a moment before getting into his car and driving away, toward the Pole Position Strip Club, where one of his girls will dance his troubles away.


	7. Vol 2, Issue 2 Interrogation

**The Vercetti Chronicles - Vol. 2, Issue 2**

Tommy walks out of the Pole Position, the strip club that he owns, with a smile on his face and a new, refreshed look about him. He walks over to his Sabre Turbo and hops in. The car roars to life and tears off down the street, toward the Vercetti Estate. That girl sure knows how to cure what ails ya, he thinks to himself as he drives along a road in the evening Florida sun. He smiles as he looks out the window at the people walking up and down the sidewalk. He's Tommy Vercetti. He's a real, proper, grade A lunatic, as Lance once said. And he's a smart lunatic, the most dangerous kind. Why should be be afraid of some low-rent goombas from up north? He owns this town and nothing is gonna take it from him. His smile fades, however, as he pulls into the driveway of his mansion. A police cruiser is parked outside, with two officers sitting on the hood, obviously waiting for him. He drives past them and parks the Sabre in his garage. He walks out and the two cops come towards him.

"Tommy Vercetti?" one asks.

"Who's askin?" Tommy hates cops as much as he hates Haitians.

"My name is Officer Rodriguez and this is Officer Shanks. We're from The VCPD-"

"Yeah, no shit," Tommy offers flatly.

Officer Rodriguez clears his throat. "We're helping with the investigation of a shootout that took place approximately 3 days ago in Little Haiti. Ten men, all Haitian, were killed. An eye witness said they saw you flee the scene in that Sabre Turbo." He points to the car as if Tommy doesn't know what he's talking about. "We wanna ask you a few questions, would you care to come with us?"

"I'm not goin' anywhere. Anything you need to ask me, you can follow me up to my office and ask me there."

Tommy turns and walks up the stairs, the cops, bewildered, following close behind. As they walk through the doors, Tommy points to a soldier and motions towards the two cops. The man, carrying an Uzi, steps in front of the cops.

"Give your guns to this man, officers."

The two cops look at each other, and timidly, hand over their handguns. Tommy continues up the stairs when the police are unarmed. He walks into his lavishly decorated office and sits in a chair behind his desk. The two cops sit in the chairs in front of Tommy's desk. The doors close loudly, causing the cops to jump. Tommy chuckles to himself.

"Now what did you want to ask me?"

"Mr. Vercetti, as I said before, a person saw you leaving the Junkyard in Little Haiti where the shooting occurred. Shots were heard and then the witness saw you leave the scene. Why were you at the Junkyard?"

"I wasn't at the Junkyard, they must have me mistaken for someone else," Tommy lies. "My dealership - my CAR dealership - sells Sabre Turbos, so that could have been anyone. Also, my employees sometimes take the cars temporarily to take care of any business they may have." Tommy is talking in a very official tone, not in the wise-guy style he usually talks in. He wants to make himself as believable as possible. "It could have been anyone."

"The car was seen a few minutes later pulling into Kaufman Cab's. You also own Kaufman Cabs, correct?" Officer Shanks, who has not yet spoke, eyes Tommy suspiciously.

"Yes, I have quite a few business ventures across town."

"So, Mr. Vercetti, my next question is this. If it wasn't you, who was it? All signs are pointing to you."

"As I said before, it was probably one of my employees. I have an alibi for that day. I was at Ammunation and then I went to a friend of mine's. He lives in Little Haiti, that was the only time that day I was there. I wouldn't go there if I could help it anyway."

"And why is that?"

"Well, let's just say a business relationship turned sour. Listen, Officers. I know I may seem like a likely suspect. But I can assure you, I had nothing to do with this heinous crime." Tommy keeps a grim look on his face, but on the inside, he's laughing his ass off just thinking of popping all those beach bums. "Is that all?"

"Yes, that's all for now. We may need to stop by again for further questioning."

"Yeah, sure. You can collect your guns when you go out. Have a nice day, Officers," Tommy says sneeringly. He glares as the two pig's heads disappear down the stairs of his mansion. He sits back down and rests his head on the back of his chair. A few moments later, the phone rings.

"Tommy, it's Phil. I was talking to my man in Liberty, Machowski, and I've got some info for you. I'm gonna be over in a minute." Phil is excited, Tommy can hear it in his voice. He's eager to hear the information so he can start dealing with this problem personally.

"Some pigs were just here, so hang back for about 20 minutes, in case they stick their noses into my business any more. I'll talk to you soon, Phil."

Tommy clicks the phone off, and gets up from behind his desk. He walks outside his office and down the stairs to the bar, to pour himself a well-deserved drink.


	8. Vol 2, Issue 3 Who They Are

**The Vercetti Chronicles - Vol. 2, Issue 3**

Tommy is just pouring himself a glass of whisky when Phil Cassidy, dressed in army fatigues and a black t-shirt comes walking through the door. He has a big smile on his face as he comes towards Tommy. Tommy stands up and the two men shake hands.

"Hey, Phil, how's it goin?"

"Fantastic, Tommy, just great. Listen, like I said before, I have some info for you that may come in real handy down the road."

"That's good, let's go up to my office and talk."

The two men walk up to Tommy's office as some soldiers play cards in the bar. Tommy sits behind his desk and Phil walks over to a big poster of Candy Suxxx, the star of one of Tommy's movies.

"So, what did your guy up north manage to dig up about these mystery men?"

"What? Oh, right." Phil snaps back into reality, putting some pictures of the movie down on a coffee table. "Ray told me that there's been a lot of guys fitting the description of our men walking around Liberty nowadays. Apparently a new Mafia crime family has sprung up, now that the Forelli's have been taken care of. Lead by some guy, uh..Salvatore Leone. They're more ruthless than the Forelli's and twice as greedy. They ain't traditional, either. Tryin' to get into spank, which is very odd for a Mafia family. They're pretty much runnin' the show up in Liberty, as far as spank goes, and now they're tryin' to get a cut in the action down here; your action."

"I see...Salvatore Leone. Did Ray give you any specs on the size of their family? How much power they have? How far they'll go for the drugs?"

"Well, so far, there have been 3 gruesome murders. Real awful shit. Tongues cut out, hands chopped off, the works. All related to spank. So these guys obviously don't pull any punches getting their merchandise. Now, they're a relatively new family so they don't really have that much power, as far as manpower goes. But what they got, they know how to use."

"Obviously, they don't have a whole lot of knowledge on how to go about things down here, or at least they didn't know. Word of their three men getting killed must have gotten back to them by now. I wouldn't be surprised to see some more of those guys poppin' up within the next week or two. Anything else?"

"Yeah, there are a couple of underbosses. Two guys, Luigi and Tony Cipriani. Now, Toni Cipriani, he's supposed to be a nutjob, real wacko-"

"Not unlike yourself." The two men laugh.

"Heh heh, yeah. But this other guy, Luigi. He's ruthless, don't think nothin' of killin' some poor bastard or gunnin' down somebody outside their home."

Tommy scratches his chin and processes all the information. They don't seem like anything that his family can't handle, but there's no harm in being safe.

"Well..I guess I'm gonna have to tell the boys to be extra-careful around, if these motherfuckers are as crazy and unforgiving as you sound. Thanks, Phil, that should be about good for now. Stay in touch with this Machowski fella, he could prove to be very useful in-"

Tommy is interrupted by a loud knock at the door. He excuses himself and walks up to answer the door. Two henchman are standing outside, both wide-eyed.

"What is it?!"

"Some guys just got gunned down in front of the gate. 4 of em, by a bunch of guys in a black Sentinel."

Shit, Tommy thinks to himself. Just when he was starting to get back into the groove. Tommy walks back over to the desk and grabs his Python pistol.

"Whats the matter, Tom?"

"Some guys just got shot down out front. I bet this was the work of those pricks from Liberty."

Tommy exits the office and walks down the stairs of the mansion. Phil also walks along briskly behind him. The two, along with some soldiers, walk out of the mansion and down the driveway. Tommy's eyes are darting around. There's a very good chance that these bastards are still around, hiding behind a corner, ready to take out the King of Vice City. Tommy walks outside the gates of his estate and down the sidewalk. About one hundred feet away from the gate, 4 bodies lay, their blood smeared over the sidewalk and road. Tommy walks over and looks over the damage. They're all riddled with bullet holes. Tommy gives a quick look around to see if the men are still in the area. When he's satisfyed that they're OK, he looks back down at the bodies. He kicks one.

"FUCK!!! Goddamnit! Those goddamn pricks are gonna pay. Did anyone see what happened? Anyone?!"

One henchmen steps forward.

"I did, Tommy."

"Well, shit-for-brains, what the hell happened?! Did you see the motherfuckers that did this?!" Tommy is irate as pedestrians look on.

"They were just standing around, on patrol, ya know, and these guys came speedin' up in a black Sentinel. They were all wearin' sunglasses and suits. The driver didn't have any guns, but the three others in the car had MP5's, like we had the other night. They stopped right next to em and opened fire. Our guys didn't even get a chance to fire back. It happened so fast.."

"Shit..alright, everyone get back on the grounds before they decide to do a second take."

Tommy, Phil, and the half-dozen men that went outside start back into the mansion as an ambulance comes racing down the road. These are those guys from up north, for sure, Tommy thinks. He plays out the scene as he thinks it happened in his head. The 4 men are standing around, guarding the mansion, telling jokes, bullshitting like normal. The Sentinel comes driving up at fullspeed. The driver lays on the handbrake and the car does a 180, stopping right next to the men. The three shooters stick their guns outside the windows and open fire. Sparks fly off the wall as the bullets pass through the henchmen's bodies and onto the barrier behind them. When they're satisfied with the job they did, they speed off again, as pedestrians and other Vercetti-ites run to the men, some laying on their backs, blood spilling out of their bodies, some on their knees, gazing blankly out ahead of them as their life slips away. As they come to the steps of the mansion, Phil climbs into his Patriot and starts the engine.

"Tommy. I'll talk to Ray again in a few days. I'll drop back over then, and I'll bring some firepower with me as well. These pricks need to be taught a lesson, and we're the crazy bastards to do it!"

Tommy gives a small, unenthusiastic chuckle. "Thanks, Phil. I'll be seein' ya."

Phil backs up and tears down the driveway and onto the street. Tommy walks to the top of the stairs and looks out over the scene again. A second ambulance had arrived, as well as a cop car. Tommy walks inside briskly before any of the emergency personnel recognize him and he has to answer more asinine questions. The doors of the mansion close behind him as Tommy walks up to his office again, no doubt to catch some sleep before deciding how to deal with this problem.


	9. Vol 2, Issue 4 Planning The Attack

**The Vercetti Chronicles - Vol. 2, Issue 4**

Bright rays of Florida sunlight come through the windows in Tommy Vercetti's office and light up the room. Tommy blinks as the light accosts his eyes. He rubs his face sleepily and sits up on the sofa he was sleeping on. He looks around his office. It's a mess, papers everywhere, shopping bags, gun manuals, pizza boxes and whiskey bottles. This past week has been a hectic one...the craziest in recent memory. Attempts have been made on some of Tommy's employees and friends. Today is the the day when he says "No more." Today, he's going to take a stand. He needs to let these clowns from Liberty know that Tommy Vercetti doesn't fuck around. He's running this town, and only death is gonna change that. Tommy goes downstairs and walks outside his mansion. Just as he's exiting, he sees Ken Rosenberg speed up in his Admiral. As usual, he looks frazzled and worried, with dark bags under his eyes. There are light beads of sweat on his brow, glistening in the sun. Tommy walks down the stairs as Ken gets out of the car. He's muttering to himself incoherently.

"Ken..what's the problem?"

"The problem? I'll tell you what the problem is, Tommy...some boss, or underboss, or something...he's coming here! He's flying into Vice City today. This afternoon, Tommy. What are we gonna do?!" Ken burys his head in his hands as he starts up the stairs of the estate.

"He's comin' in today?! Fuck...well, if he's coming in today, maybe we'll have to give him a welcome gift. Make sure he knows exactly who the fuck owns this town. What time will his plane be coming in?"

"Around 9, my sources tell me."

"Good. That will give us some decent cover. Did you catch the guy's name?"

"Something Fratelli...Vichenzo Fratelli. He's not that vital to the family, so I guess that's why he was sent here."

Tommy thinks for a moment. A smile slowly spreads across his face. "No, but he's still a member of the L7. And this is the perfect opportunity to send a message to those pricks. Ken, I need you to go to the Ammunation on Ocean Beach." Tommy takes out a wad of bills from his pocket. He extracts about a dozen bills and hands them to Ken. "Pick up two Rugers and some ammo, a few clips for each gun." Ken still looks very on-edge and worried. "Ken, I can guarantee you that after tonight, what's left of the L7 in Vice City will be running away with their tails between their legs. This will the last we hear of these low-class, low-rent paisons. Don't worry."

Ken hesitates, and finally nods. He puts the money in his pocket and looks up at Tommy. "OK, Tom. You're the boss..I'll be back in a little while."

He turns around and walks back over to his Admiral and hops in. He backs up and slowly drives out the driveway. Tommy turns around and jogs up the stairs and into his mansion. There are men standing around, and as usual, there are some hanging out in the bar. Tommy motions for the men standing in the foyer of the mansion to follow him as he walks into the bar. There are about 5 soldiers sitting down, talking and drinking. Tommy walks in and sits down in a big armchair. The henchmen walk up and stop at the entrance of the bar. All the men look toward Tommy, awaiting their instructions.

"OK. Word is that those guys in Liberty are sending down an underboss. God knows why, possibley to try and start their 'hostile takeover' or attempt another attack. Anyway, I'm gonna need 2 brave, crazy motherfuckers to come with me. We're gonna murder this chump tonight. This'll teach those L7 pricks to mess with the Vercetti Crime Syndicate. Now, who's gonna come with me tonight and end this gangwar before it even starts?"

All the men start talking at once. Tommy shakes his head frustratedly.

"No, no, NO! All of you, shut up!" Tommy points at 2 men. "You two. You're coming with me tonight. Come on, we'll go and get everything straight.

Tommy and the two men exit the bar and walk up to his office. Tommy sits down on a couch. One of the men sits in an armchair, and another man sits next to Tommy.

"OK. Vinchezo Fratelli is this guy's name. He's gonna be arriving at Escobar International around 9 pm, thats in a few hours. We're gonna take a helicopter and follow him to see where he goes. Then, once he gets out into the open, we take him out. We'll be killing three birds with one stone. We'll be sending a message to the Leone's, we'll be taking out this goomba and we'll find out where these guys are operating out of in Vice City. I'm gonna be driving the heli, so you two are gonna handle the Rugers. Either of you ever used one of those from a whirlie?" Both men shake their heads. "Damn. Well..that won't matter. I'm a good pilot so it shouldn't be too hard. If everything goes the way it should, it shouldn't take us anymore than a half an hour, pending on if he's got any protection and where he's headed. If there's any soldiers with them, just spray the motherfuckers with bullets, and if things get tense...we can fly out to the Leaf Links and stash the heli there for a few days. There's usually a Comet parked outside, so we can get back here that way. Everything clear?" Both men utter "Yes." "Good. I'm gonna go get some gas for the helicopter, Ken should be dropping over with the guns and ammo soon. Get set up, and we can do this."

The two men nod and walk back out of the office. Tommy grabs his gun from his desk, and reaches into a drawer for some extra clips. He used to throw caution to the wind, never thinking about the future. Nowadays, Tommy is being more careful than ever. Always carrying his gun and a few clips, always looking back over his shoulder, and always travelling with at least 1 other person. He'll be damned if some peon is gonna get him when he isn't being careful. He walks out of his office. A few moments later, he's on the roof of his mansion, where he gazes upon a helipad and a red and yellow Maverick helicopter. A man, another one of Tommy's soldiers, is under the helicopter, fine-tuning it. Tommy coughs and the man slides out from under it.

"Hey, Tommy! Wanna take her up for a spin?" This man's name is Frank. He's as handy with a vehicle as he is with a gun.

"Nah, no joyriding today, Frank. I gotta go get some gas. Grab your gun and come with me."

"Why do I need my gun? We expecting any trouble?"

Tommy shakes his head. "Not anything in particular, but these days, I can't be too careful. So get some heat and lets go."

Frank grabs his gun, which is resting in his toolcase and gets up. He wipes the grease off his hands and climbs in the passenger's seat of the chopper. The top propeller starts to whirl around, gaining speed with each revolution. Suddenly, it lifts into the air, heading towards the western island of Vice City.


	10. Vol 2, Issue 5 Wasting Vichenzo

**The Vercetti Chronicles - Vol. 2, Issue 5**

Dusk is breaking in Vice City. The setting sun casts a shadow of blue, pinks, oranges and reds across the sky. A black speck can be seen coming from the east island. It grows larger as it comes towards the Vercetti Estate. Finally, the helicopter begins to land on the roof of the mansion. Tommy can see from the pilot's seat his two men waiting near the helipad. Both are holding the Ruger machine guns Tommy had Ken pick up. One of the men also has a black case with Ammunation's logo on the front. Tommy has bought many of these cases in his year in Vice City. It's contains about 15 rounds of ammo for the two machine guns. As the heli starts to descend onto the helipad, both men duck. The engine stops and the propellers start to slow down as the helicopter lands safely on the roof of the mansion. First, Frank gets out carrying a small, red gas can. He goes to the back of the helicopter and starts to fill it up. Tommy gets out a moment later and walks over to the two men.

"You guys all set? Ken got you the stuff?" Both men nod, keeping stern looks on their faces. "Alright. Frank, we good to go?"

A voice comes from somewhere behind the helicopter. "Yeah, Tommy. All set."

Tommy nods his approval. "Let's go."

He walks around to the pilot's seat and gets in. Both men get in on the passengers side, one in the front and one in the back. Tommy starts up the engine as Frank walks down a ramp and into the mansion. The propellers start to spin around, gaining speed with each revolution. Soon, the helicopter is airborn. Tommy spins it around and they're flying towards Escobar International. He looks over to his henchmen and taps him on the shoulder. Once he has his attention, he points to his ears. The soldier nods and puts on a pair of headphones, the other one does the same.

"OK, there are some helipads at Escobar that are never used. We're gonna land on one and wait until Fratelli starts to move. We're gonna have to keep our distance, but we should be able to follow them fine. No one make a move until I tell you. I don't want any loss of life tonight besides theirs."

"Sure thing, boss," one half-says, half-screams over the roar of the engine. The other one nods as well. They fly over the ghettos of Vice, Little Haiti and Little Havana. Tommy looks down and sees some Haitians and Cubans in a gunfight, with a copcar coming up the street. If he didn't have a job this important to do, he would have stopped and popped a few Haitian's heads. But this is too important. This is the opportunity he's been waiting for, to teach those Liberty scumbags a lesson, to send a bold message: Tommy Vercetti doesn't fuck around.

Soon, they are coming up on Escobar International. Tommy looks down in front of the airport and sees a white Stretch, similar to the one that Tommy has at his mansion, parked next to a black Sentinel, just like the ones the guys who shot some of Tommy's men were driving a couple of nights ago. The helicopter goes up and over the terminal roof. Tommy flies over a vacant helipad and circles around. He brings down the chopper smoothly, resting it right on the big yellow "H". He shuts off the motor and sits back.

"So, Tommy. Any idea just why these guys are all of a sudden after us?"

"Well...word is that they're a new family in Liberty and trying to move there game down here. They run the spank game up in Liberty City, much the same as we do down here, just not as powerfully. Now they're trying to muscle in on our business. That can't happen."

"I get it. Why don't we send up some guys to talk to them, try to work out an arrangement?"

"I don't think these guys are the sharin' type. If they just wanted a cut of the action, they would have sent someone down right from the start to work out a deal, not try to ambush us. Besides, I don't take too kindly to wise guys killing my soldiers. This is war now."

All three men have grim looks on their faces. A henchmen coughs, but other than that, they sit in complete silence. The sky is dark now, with the moon starting to rise in the sky. Suddenly, Tommy sees it. The white Stretch driving down the road with the black Sentinel following behind. He starts up the engine, as all three men put on their headphones.

"That's them. It's showtime."

The propellers start to spin around faster and faster, suddenly they're airborn. As they lift up, Tommy can see his targets driving along at a medium pace. There isn't much traffic on the roads, just a few cars here and there. Tommy keeps following the men as they turn out onto the main strip of road of the west island and pick up speed. Tommy goes back behind buildings, always staying a little bit behind them. Suddenly, they turn up onto a bridge and start going toward the east island. Shit, Tommy thinks. This makes things a little harder.

"Hold on, boys!"

Tommy thrusts the steering stick forward as the helicopter dips down belows the bridge. Tommy pulls back just before they hit the water and continues on just far enough away from the bridge so he can still see the mafiosos. A minute or two later, they're off the bridge and back on the road. Tommy lets the helicopter rise up, high above the traffic. The cars run along, passing the marina where Col. Cortez used to be docked. They drive along Ocean Beach, before the cars pull up a sidestreet and into an alley. Tommy flies down a block and sets the helicopter down on a roof. He and his two men get out and quickly walk over to the edge of the building, keeping low as not to be seen. All three men walk to the edge of the building and lie down. The two soldiers get in position to fire at the mafia crimeboss, and Tommy also has his Python drawn, just in case. Tommy hauls out a pair of binoculars and looks down at them. He sees a man in a black suit with a pair of black gloves on get out of the limo and walk to the back door. He opens it, and an overweight man with grey hair and a thick mustache gets out. The man stands up straight, looks around and goes to the trunk. Another man in black opens the trunk, and the fat man, Vichenzo, as Tommy has gathered, hauls out two black briefcases.

"Alright, guys, that's him. Aim carefully, and give em hell!"

Both men steady their guns and take aim. Tommy watches through his binoculars as two shots ring out. Vichenzo is shot twice in the back, a stream of blood exploding from each bullet hole. Another shot rings out as he gets shot in the neck. He falls down to the ground dead. The henchmen standing outside all take out a Colt .45 and aim up at them, but don't shoot. I guess they can't see us, Tommy thinks, because of the dark.

"Get those men, but let one live."

Tommy looks back into the binoculars as three more shots ring out and three bodyguards go down. Two are dead, one is shot in the leg, screaming.

"Take out the car."

Both his men stand up and start to spray the car with bullets. All Tommy can hear is the "RATATATATATATATATA" of machine guns as little silver holes appear all over the black paintjob of the Sentinel.

"OK, THAT'S GOOD," Tommy yells. The men stop firing. "C'mon."

The three men walk back down a flight of stairs and jog over to the crime scene. Blood is splattered everywhere.

"Check the car," Tommy orders.

One of the men goes over to the car and looks in. All the men are riddled with bullet holes. Blood is smeared on the windows and the upholstery.

"Yeah, they're dead, Tommy. Real dead."

Tommy gives a quiet laugh. "Good." He walks over to the wounded soldier, still whimpering and cursing. "Shut the fuck up. Now. I know your probably in a lot of pain, but I really couldn't care less. I'm gonna let you live for one reason and one reason only. To send a message to all your goomba bosses up in Liberty. You're gonna-" The man spits in Tommy's face. Tommy takes a hanky out of his back pocket and whipes the hawk off his cheek. He smiles and looks back down at the man, his eyes burning. He raises his gun, as the man's mouth drops open. "That wad of saliva just cost you your life." Tommy pulls the trigger and shoots the man in the chest. His body tenses up as a cloud of blood sprays forth from his midsection, and then goes limp. A police siren grows louder in the distance. "Come on, lets get out of here."

The three men turn around and run back down the alley. They go up the stairs and hop into the helicopter. The propellers start to spin again and they take off into the starry night sky just as a police cruiser pulls into the alleyway.


End file.
